The present invention broadly relates to surgical instruments. More particularly, the invention relates to endoscopic surgical instruments having end effectors in the form of blunt ended scissors. Such blunt ended scissors are useful in procedures which involve the cutting by scissoring action of a first structure or tissue which is adjacent another structure or tissue to which damage must be avoided.
The endoscopy and laparoscopy procedures have recently become widely practiced surgical procedures. The endoscopy and laparoscopy procedures typically involve incising through body walls (e.g., the abdominal wall) for examining, viewing and/or operating on the ovaries, uterus, gall bladder, bowels, appendix, etc. Typically, trocars are utilized for creating the incisions. Trocar tubes are left in place so that the endoscopic or laparoscopic surgical tools may be inserted through the tube. A camera, magnifying lens, or other optical instrument is often inserted through one trocar tube, which for the laparoscopy procedure is generally located at the navel incision, while a cutter, dissector, extractor, or other surgical instrument is inserted through another trocar tube for purposes of manipulating and/or cutting the internal organ. Sometimes it is desirable to have several trocar tubes in place at once in order to receive several surgical instruments. In this manner, organ or tissue may be grasped with one surgical instrument, and simultaneously may be cut or stitched with another surgical instrument; all under view of the surgeon via the optical instrument.
Previous to the present invention, different endoscopic and laparoscopic tools have utilized scissor end effectors of several types; e.g., curved, hooked, and straight. While generally effective for cutting, the endoscopic/laparoscopic scissors of the art have the drawback that they are relatively sharp at their distal ends, and when used for cutting tissue or a structure (e.g., the pericardial wall) which is adjacent an organ or another structure (e.g., the heart) which is sensitive to irritation, the sharp distal ends of the prior art scissors can cause trauma to the adjacent organ when opening and closing to effect the cutting action.